Odo will address UHWO Asian American History class on Dec. 6 at 12:30 p.m. in D102

On Tuesday, Dec. 6, UH West O‘ahu’s first Distinguished Visiting Scholar Franklin Odo will return home to Hawai‘i to address students in Christen Sasaki’s Asian American History class. During his presentation on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, he will discuss his research as it relates to the Honouliuli Internment and Prisoner of War Camp on O‘ahu during World War II as well as his latest book, scheduled for release in 2012, Voices from the Canefields, about the folk songs sung by Japanese immigrants on sugar plantations.

Odo, a Kaimuki High School graduate and the first-ever to attend Princeton University from the school, was the founding director of the Smithsonian Institute’s Asian Pacific American Program since 1997. He was responsible for numerous exhibits highlighting the experiences of Chinese Americans, Native Hawaiians, Japanese Americans, Filipino Americans, Vietnamese Americans, Korean Americans, and Indian Americans. Odo retired from the Smithsonian in January 2010 and earlier this year, became chief of the Asian Division at the Library of Congress.

“As UH West O‘ahu’s first Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Dr. Odo brings an incredible wealth of knowledge and experience to our campus along with insights into the inner workings of our nation’s most revered institutions and stewards of our cultural history, the Smithsonian Institute and the Library of Congress,” said UH West O‘ahu Chancellor Gene Awakuni. “We are honored to bring such an accomplished scholar to our institution to work with our students, faculty and other community groups.”

Prior to his work at the Smithsonian and the Library of Congress, Odo’s 30-year teaching career included professorships at a number of prestigious universities including the University of Pennsylvania, Hunter College, Princeton University and Columbia University. Odo received his bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies from Princeton University, a master’s degree in East Asia Regional Studies at Harvard University, and completed his doctoral studies in Japanese history at Princeton University. He is the author of No Sword to Bury: Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i During World War II (2004) and editor of The Columbia Documentary History of the Asian American Experience (2002).

In addition to his presentation at UH West O‘ahu, Odo will also address the Hawai‘i Library Association Annual Conference at the Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel on Dec. 5 about the Library of Congress and the future of reading, as well as speak with high school students at Mid-Pacific Institute on Dec. 7 about the Japanese virtues of enryo (restraint, tact), okage sama de (thanks to you), giri (duty, sense of honor), on (debt of gratitude) and more. He will also speak at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i and East-West Center, as well as address the Library and Information Science Program at UH Manoa’s Hamilton Library.

ABOUT UH WEST O‘AHU

UH West O‘ahu became a four-year, regional comprehensive university when it served its first class of freshmen in fall 2007. The campus offers quality education, small classes and personalized attention at convenient locations. Construction began in August 2010 on the first phase of a new, state-of-the-art UH West O‘ahu campus in the City of Kapolei. It is expected to serve approximately 2,000 students for fall 2012 classes. For more information, visit uhwo.hawaii.edu, twitter.com/uhwestoahu, facebook.com/uhwestoahu or call 454-4700 or toll-free (866) 299-8656.